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December 25: Titus 2:11-14
Key Verse: Titus 2:11
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
Devotion:
In the Old Testament we hear of the many ways in which God tried to teach people about salvation, to teach people about righteousness and to ask for forgiveness when it is due. We also hear of the many ways which sacrifices were to be made in order to appease God’s anger for the things mankind was doing wrong. Yet we also see how mankind continued to do the wrong thing and continued to get deeper into trouble no matter what!
God came up with a plan – that plan included allowing His Son to come to our Salvation by living with us and a sinless manner and then taking on the sin debt we owe by giving His own life on the cross instead of ours! In order for this to happen, a baby had to be born in a manner not seen before and one which would stand out in every way.
Jesus Christ came to be born of a virgin, without sin, so He could embark on a journey which would end in Him bringing salvation within the grasp of ever person on earth, not just those alive then but for every person in the past, present and future. All we would have to do is to believe this is what God has done for us and accept Him into our lives. He would offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice in the end so we would not have to!
With this Christ came to be part of us and encourage us to be eager to do all that is good, lifting Him up in praise and worship because He is the Son of God.
I would like to wish each one of you a very Happy, Joyful and blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; remembering all He has done for us and the peace He brings for us.
Points to Ponder:
Do you realise Christ did this for you?
Will you thank Him personally today?
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December 24: 2 Samuel 7:8-16
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 7:14
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.
Devotion:
King David was taken out of the fields to become king; from being a shepherd to being king over all Israel! Up until this point the spirit of God dwelt in the tabernacle, a huge tent. David was now wanting to build a proper house or palace for God, something befitting the King of Kings rather than a tent.
God’s reply through Nathan the prophet may have been a bit of a surprise for many. God did not want a huge palace built for Him. He did not want to be in the biggest castle, palace, mansion or anything else; He wanted to live close to the people where He could protect them most and guide them openly.
God wanted the people of Israel to get their own home first. He wanted Israel to know how special they were to Him. Already God was being the caretaker, the servant, the Shepherd and leader of all who were willing to listen and obey. God wanted David to know He was not just going to look after him, but over all his descendants and his people.
But the warning was also there. Too many times they had turned their backs on God because they wanted something physical to look at. Too many time they had turned away from God’s ways and lived out their own desires instead. The warning was stark. God would come down on them heavily if they walked their own path again. Even though God may allow punishment through other men, He would never stop loving David and his descendants. This house would stand forever!
Points to Ponder:
Do you blame things on God?
Do you know how much God loves you?
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December 23: Psalm 25:6-7
Key Verse: Psalm 25:7
Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.
Devotion:
What are the things you ask from God? Do you ask for riches, blessings and various other physical conditions, or are you asking God to take it easy on you? If we are all honest, we do tend to ask for the physical things more than we should; we also tend to forget about admitting to our shortcomings while asking God to forgive us!
Here the Psalmist reminds us we have to admit our sins to God, but we can also depend on Him for the forgiveness and trust His mercy will outshine the issues we have had in our pasts. Never forget the debt Christ paid for us all and always remember it is more than enough to cover anything and everything we have done in our pasts.
We sometimes wonder whether God is going to forgive us because we have been caught up in many things in our past; this is why the Psalmist asks God to not dwell on the things we have done in our youth. These are typically the times when we have done things wrong because we have been tempted and carried away by peer pressure. God is not going to hold any of that against you if you are willing to ask Him to forgive you.
God would love to put it all behind us – so bring on the prayers and trust God is going to forget about the things we have done wrong in the past. We should not be asking this because we think we have done enough righteous things, but because we know Christ’s love for us goes way beyond any faults we may have!
Points to Ponder:
Do you carry your sins with you?
Will you try to set them aside knowing Christ totally forgives?
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December 22: Matthew 19:16-22
Key Verse: Matthew 19:21
Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
Devotion:
Some people take these verses and twist them to make others believe rich people will not be able to enter into heaven. This is not what Jesus was getting at here. This was the answer Jesus gave for a particular man who came to get an answer from Him. This man may have been wealthy by some people’s measure and yet may have been ‘normal’ according to others people’s wealth – we shall not know unless we are able to question him ourselves.
This man was looking for a way to get into heaven and he came to ask Jesus directly for the answer. Jesus knew him and answered him according to how well he was known by Jesus. First, Jesus took some of the commandments and recounted them to the man. These are the ones which this man had been able to keep. Jesus wanted to show him how well he knew him.
Next, the man asked for a deeper answer because he knew he had kept these already listed. What came next was not what the man expected. Jesus told the man to sell up everything and give it all to the poor. Why did this upset the man so much? Because the man held high regard for wealth. He had worked hard for what he had and did not want to give that up. This was the only thing holding him back from getting to heaven!
If we ask God what we should be doing, we had better be ready for an answer which may cause us to have a bit of a crisis with how we live. Jesus wants us to have God as number one in our lives. This means leaving everything else behind and keeping God as number one. Yes, it is difficult to do; but when Jesus gave the commandment to love the Lord our God with all out heart and soul, He was referring to everything in our lives.
Points to Ponder:
What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
Are you willing to make that second to God?
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December 21: Matthew 19:13-15
Key Verse: Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’
Devotion:
I love this passage because of how much it reminds me of my childhood. I grew up in a time when people used to say things like “children should be seen and not heard!” Yes, people did use to say things like that, and it wasn’t that long ago. Of course I objected to that saying back then, and I still do now; after having children of my own and allowing them to have a voice, I do believe children should be able to speak out of turn – and given the right teaching, they can learn when it is appropriate to say things, not by being denied, but by being encouraged at the right time.
God does not scold us for every little thing we do wrong, instead He allows us to come forward and learn. He does this by positive teaching too. The more we get to see how much God cares for us and how much He is able to support us, the more willing we are to come forward at the right time and gain from His teaching.
He does not want to have ‘slave children’ but rather to have children who are willing to come to Him at any time and feel comfortable about doing so. He also wants us to know we can get support from Him at all times; sometimes we can gain from doing things ourselves whilst other times we need to stop and ask for help. As long as we are willing to listen, we will learn what is the right approach to make.
The disciples immediately went on the offensive and tried to prevent the children from approaching Jesus – but he wanted them and the disciples to know He was there for us all. Jesus wanted to show the disciples His love extended beyond the harsh teaching of the adults and into a realm where they could learn more by getting involved. God is encouraging us to get involved more too!
Points to Ponder:
Do you encourage people or discourage them?
Will you try to encourage people to know God more intimately?
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December 20: Isaiah 7:10-14
Key Verse: Isaiah 7:12
But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’
Devotion:
Have you ever stopped yourself from asking God because you thought it was wrong to ask? Have you ever not stepped forward to ask a question because you thought it was a stupid question… and you’re still waiting for the answer!!!
God doesn’t want us to not ask! God knows what our issues are and He knows when we have doubts. If we do not face those doubts and step forward anyway, we are going to have those doubts for as long as it takes before we stop and ask! Just like some people do not like to ask directions because they refuse to believe they could get lost – so too people stop seeking God’s counsel because they think they are always right!
We should not be bottling up our feeling and our doubts because of our fears; we have a God who has asked us to bring our feelings, doubts and our burdens to Him. Jesus came and reiterated this by reminding us to do the same no matter what. When we start listening to God and start bringing Him our prayers, He is able to answer them and give us the peace nobody else on earth can give us!
His promise to us is as unbelievable as people’s doubts – to have a virgin give birth to a son and have people call him Immanuel, or God with us! For those who believed and had faith, they had a new hope. For those who doubted, they had more doubt. For us now, we can look back on history and see this all came to pass through Jesus being born of Mary and being our Saviour, the Son of God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep putting things off because of doubts?
Have you read through your bible to see how many promises came true?
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December 19: Luke 1:39-45
Key Verse: Luke 1:44
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Devotion:
I think Elizabeth was just as surprised as her baby when she heard the voice of Mary when she came into Zechariah's house! Elizabeth was roughly 6 months further on in her pregnancy than Mary, so the baby kicking would have been quite a kick! Elizabeth must have been a bit worried about what she was hearing, concerned for Mary, and generally not at ease with everything which was going on; but when she heard the voice of Mary, and with her baby jumping for joy, she knew the things she had heard were all true!
This is what it can be like to be a Christian in a community which does not outwardly praise God. We can feel like we are fighting a battle every day as we are confronted by people who doubt or raise their voices against God’s Word. We can even doubt what we are doing because of the things we have to face every day. But when someone comes in who praises God openly, our own hearts jump for joy and we feel strong enough to carry on once again.
It is always good to be with other Christians when you are feeling a bit down or a bit tired of having to face off the doubters. It is like fighting a long drawn out battle for what seem like forever when suddenly the cavalry arrives to support you! You soon feel like you can continue fighting and step forward with a new vigour in your fight!
God wants us to always know we have people around us who are able to support us. He will always open your eyes to those around who can help. But if we walk around with our eyes closed or we walk around only focusing on the bad things, we may well not see the help when it arrives. Keep you eyes open, your hearts ready and willing, and be prepared to continue fighting the good fight because God will supply your support!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you are fighting an up-hill battle?
Will you depend on Christ to bring in the support?
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December 18: Psalm 72:12-14
Key Verse: Psalm 72:14
He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Devotion:
When these Psalms were composed and written during the time of king David, they were written knowing of a future when the Messiah would come to save the earth. He would not come to save the rich and famous, but would come to serve the poor and needy, those who are oppressed and in need of protection. They did not know how or when, but many believed!
We can look back in history and know Jesus came as the Messiah, though some choose not to believe it possible a mere human could be the Messiah. We can look back and see how He came forward to serve those who cried out for Him. We can look back and see how He took pity on the week, poor and needy, saving many from death. We can see how many were saved from oppression and violence…
We can also look around us now and see how Christ is still watching over us. We can see how He answers when we call out. We can see how He still serves those who need Him in their lives, caring for the week, poor and needy. We can see how He continues to answer prayers and saves people from oppression and violence.
We can see this in people who have hope in Him. People who trust in Him. People who lift up their prayers to Him. For those who ignore God, we only see what man can do and we see how this fails us all in the end.
Let us continue to hope in our future with Christ. Let us continue to call out for help when we need it and know He is listening and will answer our prayers. Let us have faith those answers will come when we ask: so let us put our faith on the line and depend more on Christ for everything in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
Do you depend on Christ?
Does it scare you to depend on Him more?
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December 17: Psalm 98:4-6
Key Verse: Psalm 98:4
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
Devotion:
After asking the question “why do you go to church,” let’s look at what you do when you are at church. Now, depending on where you go to church and what denomination and various other human traits we care to list, your church service may be very different to mine. I know I have been in a variety of places of worship where people are required to do various things, whilst at others they are encouraged to do things, and even some where almost anything goes!
I put it to you the relationship you have with God will dictate what you do in church. You may be very scared of God because He is all powerful and you may not wish to do anything other than listen intently to the priest for everything; whatever you do, do it because of your relationship with God and not because of other people!
One of the way I like to express my love for God is by singing or making joyful sounds. Since I was in hospital with various things shoved down my throat in ICU, my voice has not been quite the same. I work from home most of the time so I don’t get to speak too often, which also means my voice doesn’t get used enough or exercised! So don’t ask me to sing out too loudly at the moment or I may scare people away! But I can still make sure others get to hear things by operating the PA system…
It is what we do for and with others which counts; not so much what we do for ourselves or how we can get to please ourselves. This should be about doing what you can for God in His place of worship. This is our time to shine and allow God to know how much we do love Him. Just like our parent think the most of us most of the time, so too God thinks a lot of us most of the time! So let’s put our wants and desires aside to worship God as openly as we can & pray fervently for those who cannot do the same because of wayward governments!
Points to Ponder:
What do you do when you go to church?
What do you think God thinks of what you do at church?
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December 16: Luke 7:24-30
Key Verse: Luke 7:26
But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Devotion:
Why do you go to church? Is it to get away from ‘normal life?’ Is it to make sure people see you going to church? Is it to sing songs? Why do you really go to church? I think your answer may change from week to week as you go through your own feelings and life...
Jesus wanted the people to think about why they went to see John the Baptist in the desert – after all he was nothing much to look at, didn’t have a nice building, didn’t have a band backing him up… He simply wanted people to hear the truth about Jesus, about the Messiah he had been told to tell people about. He made sure people understood how the scriptures of old were tightly linked to the Messiah and his message he was told to bring to the people.
We should be going to church to be fed with God’s Word, not necessarily to be fed the bread and wine. We should be going to church to worship God and to listen to our church leaders telling us the truth held in the scriptures. We should have a thirst for more information so we can understand more about our Lord and live our lives closer to how He has asked us to.
When we don’t understand God’s Word, we find it difficult to have faith in it and even struggle with our beliefs. We need to understand a certain amount so we can apply that into our lives. The Ethiopian Eunuch did not understand the scriptures and was struggling until the apostle stopped and explained it to him. After that he had no worries about being baptised as a show of his belief and faith in Christ.
Points to Ponder:
Do you go to church regularly?
Why do you go to church?